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A women-led startup ‘Astrome’ has developed deep-tech for reliable low-cost internet services to rural areas. Astrome has developed an innovative wireless product that gives fibre like bandwidth at a fraction of the cost of fibre to help telecom operators deliver reliable low-cost internet services to suburban and rural areas. The …

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the new US Secretary of Energy agreed to revamp the India-US Strategic Energy Partnership. Important points: The two leaders agreed to prioritise greater collaboration in cleaner energy sector biofuels, CCUS, hydrogen production and carbon sequestration through technology exchange, joint R&D through Partnership to …

Due to the recent blockage of the Suez Canal, the option of re-routing ships via the Cape of Good Hope was explored. The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A headland is a narrow piece of land …

NASA and ISRO are collaborating on developing an SUV-sized satellite called NISAR, which will detect movements of the planet’s surface as small as 0.4 inches over areas about half the size of a tennis court. The satellite will be launched in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota …

 The Maharaja Chhatrasal Convention Centre has been inaugurated at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. The Convention Centre, named after the legendary Bundelkhand King Maharaja Chhatrasal, was built under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of the Ministry of Tourism. Khajuraho It is one of the nineteen identified iconic destinations in the country. The Ministry …

Fluorosis is a cosmetic condition that affects the teeth. It’s caused by overexposure to fluoride during the first eight years of life. This is the time when most permanent teeth are being formed. After the teeth come in, the teeth of those affected by fluorosis may appear mildly discolored. India …

Japan has finalised loans and a grant totalling around 233 billion yen for several key infrastructure projects in India, including for a project in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Grant for Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI): A grant of 4.01 billion yen for a project for the improvement of power …

China and Iran signed a 25-year “strategic cooperation pact” recently. It includes “political, strategic and economic” components. This document can be very effective in deepening relations It would establish a blueprint for “reciprocal investments in the fields of transport, ports, energy, industry and services”. The agreement comes amid a major …

The Bihar legislature witnessed noisy disorder inside and outside the Assembly on March 23-24 as Opposition parties opposed the government’s attempt to pass the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021. Protesting Opposition lawmakers were forcibly ousted by marshals and additional police forces called in by the Speaker’s office, with many …

Secretary, Ministry of Defence vs. Babita Puniya Case: The Supreme Court in February 2020 directed the government to ensure that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission (PC) as well as command postings in all services other than combat. Appeal by Women questing implementation: Later, questioning the compliance …

Two new species of seaweed have been discovered by a group of marine biologists from Central University of Punjab, Bathinda. Imporatant points: Named Hypnea indica (after India) and Hypnea bullata (because of the blisterlike marks on its body – bullate), the seaweeds are part of the genus Hypnea or red …

India and Bangladesh signed 5 MoUs in the fields of Disaster Management, trade, NCC, ICT and setting up of sports facilities recently. Foundation stone was laid for infrastructure development for power evacuation facilities from the Rooppur Nuclear power plant. The Bangladesh leg of the Banagabandhu-Bapu Digital Exhibition was inaugurated by …

NASA and ISRO are collaborating on developing a satellite called NISAR. It will detect movements of Earth’s surface as small as 0.4 inches over areas about half the size of a tennis court. It is an SUV-sized satellite. The name NISAR is short for NASA-ISRO-SAR. SAR here refers to the …

India delivered on its promise of 2,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) worldwide, sending a shipment bound for Copenhagen. UN Peacekeeping: UN peacekeepers provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace. Principles: …

As many as 27 migratory birds have been reported dead on account of avian influenza in the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary area of Himachal Pradesh. Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary: The Pong Dam also called the Beas dam is an artificial embankment Dam constructed across the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh. …

Chairman of the Empowered Group on COVID-19 vaccination said that the Co-WIN platform, for COVID-19 vaccination registration, has been ramped up to accept one crore registrations and record vaccination of 50 lakh persons daily. COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system is a digitalised platform to be used to effectively roll …

The five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi in M. Siddiq v. Mahant Suresh Das popularly known as Ram Janmabhoomi temple case had upheld the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 The Preamble of the Act …

The Centre plans to issue a 14-digit identification number to every plot of land in the country within a year. Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) scheme: The Department of Land Resources said that the ULPIN scheme has been launched in 10 States this year and will be rolled out …

The President of India gave assent to a Bill to accord primacy to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (L-G) over the government. The Union government announced the presidential assent to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 through a gazette notification. The law says the government in Delhi …

The Centre has told the Assam government that “rejection slips” to those excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) published in 2019 should be issued immediately. National Register of Citizens (NRC): NRC is an official record of those who are legal Indian citizens. It includes demographic information about …